[Featured Stock] Green Cross Rises 7% on Earnings Improvement and Vaccine Contract Manufacturing Expectations

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Green Cross started rising on the 25th.

As of 9:09 AM on that day, Green Cross was trading at 455,000 KRW, up 7.06% from the previous trading day. This is interpreted as investor sentiment gathering due to expectations of profitability improvement this year and anticipation of vaccine contract manufacturing.

Hana Financial Investment has raised the target price to 500,000 KRW, expecting a significant improvement in Green Cross's profitability this year. Seon Min-jung, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, analyzed, "As exports of products developed or produced by Green Cross increase, profitability is expected to improve significantly," adding, "The gross profit margin, estimated at 30.2% in 2020, is expected to improve by about 2 percentage points this year."

Expectations for COVID-19 vaccine contract manufacturing are also high. Researcher Seon stated, "Once the announcement of a contract signing begins, sequential news related to COVID-19 vaccine contract manufacturing agreements is expected to follow. Green Cross is projected to achieve significant performance improvement this year," and explained, "While diagnostic companies saw significant performance improvements due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, vaccine contract manufacturing companies are expected to follow in 2021."